St Francis of Assisi Catholic Rambler's Club (Affiliated to H.F. Holidays) The Club is approved by the Archbishop of Westminster; affiliated to the Ramblers Association. Website: www.stfrancisramblers.org.uk Programme of Rambles and Events for December 2011 to February 2012 Items for the next programme by the end of January please Special notice about Ann Milner's adventurous walk from Rome to Jerusalem: As was stated on the website home page Ann kept us up to date with a series of special reports entitled "Postcards from the Edge". She asked that the postcards be available on a restricted basis so if you woul like to view them please e mail me at 30avarn@tfinnegan.org.uk and I will provide you with a password. Sunday 4th December(OS Explorer Map 146) Leader: Maurice Hickman Meet: Victoria at 0935 for 1004 train to Redhill (arr. 1038)%u2028Lunch: Railway Arms, Merstham%u2028Tea: Fanny's Farm Shop, Markedge Lane, Upper Gatton %u2028Distance: 9.5 miles, returning from Redhill%u2028Fare: £6.25 with Network Card Note: Leader will meet group at Redhill Sunday 11th December - (OS Explorer Map 146) Leader: Philip Groves Meet: Victoria station 09:00 for 09:22 train to Dorking (arriving 10:18) Lunch: The Plough, Coldharbour (a micro-brewery and the highest pub in SE England) Tea: Dorking Distance: 13 miles, including Leith Hill Fare: £5.13 CDR with Network Card NB: If Philip is not at Victoria Station, he will meet group at Dorking Sunday 18th December(OS Explorer 166) Leader: Martin Harrison Meet: Cockfosters Underground Station (Piccadilly Line Zone 5) at 10.15 for 10.30 start.%u2028Lunch: The Chequers, Coopers Lane, Potters Bar (pub does reasonably priced food). %u2028Tea: Trent Country Park%u2028Distance: 9 miles. Returning from Cockfosters. Walk is followed by a Christmas get together at Wetherspoons “The Liberty Bounds“,Tower Hill. See programme for further details. Sunday 25th December Happy Christmas Leader: Mr Claus Sunday 1st January 2012 No walk yet arranged. Please see internet www.stfrancisramblers.org.uk for details of walks for this weekend or contact a committee member. Sunday 8th January ( Explorer map 174). Leader: Paul Connolly Take two for this ramble as we were unable to complete it in November due to unforseen circumstances. Meet : Leyonstone (Central Line Zone 3) 09.45 for 10.00 prompt start. Lunch : The Station House, Chingford. Good value food. Tea : Loughton Distance : 11 mostly level miles returning from Loughton (Central Line Zone 6) Fare : One day travelcard up to £8.60 Sunday 15th January (Explorers 137 & 150) Leader Paul Brunning Meet: Charing Cross 08.55 for the 09.13 train to Chartham (Kent) (arr. 10.51). Train calls at London Bridge 09.21. Lunch: The White Horse Chilham Tea: Unlikely Distance: 9 easy miles, returning from Chartham Fare: OPR £16.35 Chartham from Charing Cross with Network Card. Note: Leader may join train en route. Sunday 22nd January(Landranger 188) Leader: Maurice Hickman Meet: Charing Cross 0945 for 1008 train to Paddock Wood (arr. 1059)%u2028Lunch: Dovecote Inn, Capel (real ale by gravity dispense, good food %u2028and plenty of it)%u2028Tea: The Humphrey Bean(Wetherspoon), Tonbridge%u2028Distance: 8.5 miles, returning from Tonbridge%u2028Fare: £10.05 Paddock Wood with Network Card Sunday 29th January (Explorer 147) Leader: Paul Brunning Meet: Charing Cross 09.35 for the 09.53 train to Sevenoaks (arr. 10.25). Train calls at London Bridge 10.01. Lunch: The Bucks Head, Godden Green Tea: possibly Sevenoaks Distance: 10 miles, returning from Sevenoaks Fare: OPR £6.75 Sevenoaks with Network Card. Note: Leader may join train en route Sunday 5th February (Explorer maps 175 & 174) Leader: Paul Connolly Meet : Liverpool Street 0920 for 0945 train to Harold Wood (Zone 6)(arr 1010) Lunch : Orange Tree, Havering Atte Bower. Tea : An infusion of dried leaves and boiling water - but not on this walk!! Distance : 11 miles returning from Grange Hill (Central Line). Likely to be muddy - especially in the afternoon. Fare : One day Travelcard to Zone 6 up to £8.60 NOTE: Paul will meet the ramblers at Harold Wood. Sunday 12 February 2012 (Map: London A-Z). Leaders Virginia & Roger Yelland. Meet: East India station (DLR, Zone 2). 10.00am. Lunch: either at Greenwich or at Mudchute Farm. Tea: probably around the Narrow Street area of Limehouse. DISTANCE: 8 miles including Trinity Buoy Wharf (there is a hut where Michael Faraday carried out experiments), then following various riverside walks, docks, basins and canals (including Canary Wharf), via Mudchute Farm, to St Katharine Docks and the Tower of London, finishing at Tower Hill station. For a photographic preview follow this link, or ask and we can email the link to you. http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.289715004394955.78256.100000693729661&type=3&l=9903803b4b Sunday 19th February (Landranger 165) Leader Tony Norton Meet: Marylebone Station 09.20 for 09.38 train to Princes Risborough (arr. 10.17)%u2028Lunch: A choice of venues in Chinnor %u2028Tea: Possibly%u2028Distance: 10 miles, returning from Princes Risborough %u2028Fare: £11.90 with Network Card Sunday 26th February (Maps: Explorer 193, Landranger 174) Leader: Henriette Van Zaelen Meet : Kings Cross 08.45 for 09.03 train to Stevenage (arr 09.20) Then SB7 bus at 09.45 to Great Ashby. Lunch : Three Horse Shoes, Hooks Cross. Tea : Possibly Distance : 11 miles returning from Knebworth. Fare : Anytime return £8.00 to Stevenage with Network Card Stage 5 of the Compostella Pilgrimage - from Burgos to Leon or Astorga Maurice is 'hoping'(i.e. provided his legs are willing) to walk from Burgos to Leon or Astorga for the next leg of his Camino. It is a difficult journey as we have to carry everything we need for the whole journey. In Spain this means carrying a sleeping bag weighing about 1 kg. Accommodation is mostly in refugios some of which can be quite Spartan. The worst one was where you had to go outside to access the loos and the dormitory accommodation was like a human battery house with the beds (double bunks) on top of each other. Thus if you are a very light sleeper, ear plugs may be recommended. You offer all these privations up as part of the experience of pilgrimage. The possible dates for 2012 are: Wednesday/Thursday 28th/29th March to Sunday 15th of April. HF Holidays Newest Country House Extract from HF Holidays Members News "We are excited to announce our new base in Beddgelert in Northern Snowdonia. Craftwyn Hall is a charming historic property leased from the National Trust, and offers stunning walking to suit all levels, from beautiful green valleys to the summit of Snowdon. As a small property, holidays in 2012 will offer one walk each day, with a choice of programmes of easier, medium or harder walks on different weeks, with a cosy, sociable atmosphere each evening. The property will be expanded in future years to accommodate a larger number of guests. For more information about Craftwyn Hall please see the 2012 Walking & Outdoor Holidays brochure or visit www.hfholidays.co.uk" Club Committee 2011-2012 (Please note: Addresses and telephone numbers are not included in this internet version of the programme) President: Fr Peter Newby, Parish Priest, St Mary Moorfields, 4-5 Eldon Street, Secretary: Maurice Hickman, Membership Secretary Antoinette Adkins, Treasurer: Gillian McLauchlan. Ramble List Compiler John Burbage, Publicity Co-ordinator Paul Brunning, Committee Members Tony Norton, Barbara Bridle, Henrietta Van-Zaelen, Comings and Goings You may wonder why three members of the Committee are unemployed. The reason for this is that jobs other than Secretary, Treasurer and Rambles List Compiler and Publicity Co-ordinator will be decided at the November committee meeting. Francis O,Sullivan after years on the committee is standing down. Thank you Francis for your loyal service as one of the membership secretaries. Thanks also to Maureeen Cahalane who is standing down after serving as an ordinary committee member but who despite this was able to contribute a great deal to the running of the Club. Coming back on the committee are Tony Norton and Henrietta Van-Zaelen. Club Website Those members who have not already done so should look on the Club website which is managed by Tony Finnegan. Besides information on forthcoming rambles it also has loads of interesting and amusing photos taken by Club members. Many of these photos have been taken on Sunday rambles and there are a mass of photos which were taken on the holiday to Kerry in Ireland which Tony organised. The web address is: www.stfrancisramblers.org.uk Secretary's Report for Club Year 2010-2011 The Club year began with a very successful 80th Anniversary Celebration which took place after the 2010 AGM. Bishop George Stack was invited to this. He was the principal celebrant at the Mass after the meeting and was also invited to attend the buffet afterwards. Also invited was Jo-Anne Rowley from the Westminster Record who took a photo of the Committee which appeared in a subsequent edition of the paper together with a short article. There was also a full page article about the past and present history of the Club on the back page of the paper in the August 2011 edition. Several holidays were led during the year notably to Northumberland and Kerry. The holiday in Kerry attracted over 20 Club members. Several members also went on the A&B Ecumenical Walking Pilgrimage to Birmingham in honour of Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman. Some too went on the Camino to Burgos in Spain from Orthez in France. A day of recollection was not held but members were invited to go to an organized event at the Jesuit Centre in Mount Street instead. This may be the option in the future due to the poor take up of the Club organized events. Requiescant in Pace Betty Blandino R.I.P. Prayerful sympathy to Joan Blandino on the death of her sister Betty. Betty died in Oxford in September. She was a member of the Club for a short time in the fifties. Bridget Brunning R.I.P. All the members of the Club will with me express their sympathy for Paul Brunning whose wife died last month. Annual Mass for Deceased Members The Mass for deceased members was held on 12th of November at 6pm in St Mary Moorfields church, Eldon Street(near Liverpool Street main line station). A number of Club members came along to it. After the Mass many members went to Hamilton Hall in Liverpool Street station for a meal and drinks and also to socialise. Maurice has a number of leaflets listing the names of the dead(the most recent, in the past year,are printed in red) left over (many more were printed than those who came along to the Mass). If any member should like a copy please contact Maurice. Club Reunion 2011 Anne and Maureen would like to thank everyone who helped to make this year's Reunion another enjoyable and happy occasion. To those who sent in good wishes and news items, etc, many thanks. They were all passed on and appreciated. We hope to be able to hold the 2012 Reunion again at St Mary Moorfields (where the Club began 82 years ago) on Saturday 29th September. This date will be confirmed later. Main Non-Sunday Events Saturday 17th December Christmas Dinner at Lowiczanka Polish Centre Restaurant, 238-246 King Street, Ravenscourt Park, London W6. Please arrive in time to sit down by 7 PM Wine,dine and dance the night away(well, until midnight) in a night club atmosphere. Three course meal with a glass of complementary vodka for £23.50. Included in the price is £3 for entertainment.Gratuities at your discretion. Menu on separate page at back of newsletter. You will need to send a cheque for £23.50,payable to R.G.Slater,to Robert Slater. E Mail him at rgs166@hotmail.com for the address to which to send your cheque. Sunday 18th December - Christmas Ramble and Social Venue Christmas Ramble Social 'The Liberty Bounds' The address of the Liberty Bounds Wetherspoon pub is 15 Trinity Square (off Byward Street). If you are coming from London Bridge main line station you can walk across the bridge to the Monument underground station and catch a No 15 bus towards the Tower of London and alight just after bus turns left out of Great Tower Street into Byward Street. Trinity Square is the turning on the left just after Seething Lane. The shortest route is from Tower Hill underground station. Turn right out of the station and continue along Trinity Square to the pub ignoring the Cooper's Row turning. If you want to walk from London Bridge there is a path both sides of the river leading towards Tower Bridge. Go down the steps from London Bridge to the Thames Path (should be signposted). If you are going over Tower Bridge turn left before the Tower of London to Tower Hill, then with the Tower of London on your right proceed up to the main road. Cross at the pedestrian lights and turn left and proceed to Trinity Square and the Wetherspoons. Christmas Ramble and Social (at the Liberty Bounds, 15 Trinity Square) Join the rest of the St Francis of Assisi members for a friendly 'get-together' at the Liberty Bounds (a Wetherspoon pub) near the Tower of London. Nearest underground station is Tower Hill on the District and Circle Lines and the DLR. This will take place after the Christmas ramble led by Martin Harrison. The people coming back from the ramble will not arrive until around 4.30 to 5pm. Food will be available in the pub until 8pm. It will be a chance to meet friends, chat and exchange Christmas cards. There will be no raffle so don't bring along any raffle prizes. Monday 19th December Christmas Lunch at St Paul's Open House, St Paul,s Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 0PN £14.00 per adult (with group discount). Family and friends welcome. Travel: St Paul's is a few minutes walk from Brentford Station. Approx. 15 minutes by E2 bus (direction Brentford) from Norhfields Station (Piccadilly Line). Bus 235 from Feltham- alight at St Paul's Road/Police Station. Please bring your own wine etc. (£2 per bottle corkage). Please select from menu at the back of the programme and put a tick or underline your 3 choices. Cut off along the dotted line and return your order (keeping a copy) with £5.00 non-returnable deposit to: M. Furlong, 43 Briar Crescent, Northolt, Mddx. UB5 4ND by 10th December. Any queries to Maureen: 020 8422 8766 / 07950 766346 Email: marysia1883@yahoo.co.uk Saturday 21st January New Year's Party The party will be at St Mary Moorfields Church Hall from 7pm onwards following mass in the Church which will be at 6pm (for the benefit of new members St Mary Moorfields is at 4-5 Eldon Street which is close to Liverpool Street Station - carry on past Platform 1 and go up the ramp or steps into Eldon Street). Bring food to share and your choice of drink and pay £5 on entry. Prizes for the raffle will be gratefully received. Our regular friendly disco will be provided by 'Canute' with soft music for the first hour and music for dancing later | 
